Trial
The most important charges in the two-week trial were attempted murder of the President and four counts of assaulting a federal officer (the Secret Service agents). Duran had served prison time previously, convicted of aggravated assault with a vehicle in the U.S. Army, and therefore, beyond the attempted murder of the President he was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The other charges were use of an assault weapon during a crime of violence, destruction of U.S. property, and interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Duran pleaded not guilty and mounted an insanity defense, claiming that he was trying to save the world by destroying an alien "mist," connected by an umbilical cord to an alien in the Colorado mountains. Prosecutors stated he was faking insanity, and called more than 60 witnesses to testify that Duran hated government in general, and President Clinton in particular. The jury deliberated for under five hours to reject the insanity defense and arrive at the guilty verdict.
As of 2011, Duran is serving his sentence at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution at Florence Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. The Bureau of Prisons projects his release date to be the year 2029.
Read more about this topic: Francisco Martin Duran
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